Olympic gold medalist caught sleeping in the park, what happened?

Italian swimmer Thomas Ceccon has caused controversy by sleeping in a park instead of staying in the Olympic village.

Recently, famous Italian swimmer Thomas Ceccon surprised everyone by deciding to sleep outside in a park, after publicly criticizing the living conditions in the Olympic village. A photo posted by Saudi Arabian rower Husein Alireza shows Ceccon lying on a park bench, using his backpack as a pillow.

Husein Alireza wrote on his post: “Rest today, win tomorrow.” The post quickly went viral on social media, largely because Ceccon had publicly criticized the living conditions in the Olympic village.

Famous Italian swimmer Thomas Ceccon sleeps in park in protest against living conditions in Olympic village

Ceccon won medals in his first two races – gold in the men’s 100m backstroke and bronze in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay. However, he failed to reach the final of the men’s 200m backstroke.

After his painful elimination, the athlete expressed his frustration to the press, saying: “No air conditioning, poor food, and many other problems.” These are complaints Olympic fans have heard from many other athletes this summer.

Thomas Ceccon added: “Normally, when I’m at home, I always sleep in the afternoon, but here I have a hard time sleeping between the heat and the noise.”

Thomas Ceccon won gold at this year’s Olympics

While many other athletes were still trying to overcome the difficult conditions, Ceccon chose to find a place to rest outdoors. His actions caused controversy, especially since it did not help him achieve a better time. On Saturday (August 3), Ceccon missed the final round of another Italian relay.

“Olympic athletes should have the freedom to find a comfortable place to rest, but that does not guarantee they will win medals in their competitions,” the swimming star shared .

Ceccon is not alone, with other athletes such as Coco Gauff, Ariarne Titmus and Assia Touati also expressing their dissatisfaction with the living conditions at the athletes’ village this time. Titmus, the Australian swimmer, after successfully defending her Olympic gold medal in the 400m freestyle, said that if she had been in better conditions, she could have broken the world record. She shared: “The athletes’ village is not designed to create the best conditions for high performance, so whoever can maintain a better spirit will have an advantage.”

One of the most controversial features is the bedding in the athletes’ village. The single beds are made from cardboard, manufactured by Airwave, in an environmentally friendly manner. However, they have been heavily criticised by water polo players Tilly Kearns and Gabi Palm from Australia, with Kearns saying: “My back was about to break after the first night.”

Cardboard bed at this year’s Olympic village